Jim's Farewell
by Shadow of the Forgotten
Summary: Sequel to Jim, Swims?. Jim went to the resort fully prepared to deal with his 'punishment'; what he wasn't prepared for was Lisa's news. This story was done as a request.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Outlaw Star or anything affiliated with said show.

* * *

After staying up far too late the night before beating Aisha to a pulp in his new fighting game, Jim decided he'd earned sleeping in that morning. So pulling his blue comforter up to his ears he rolled onto his side and let himself drift back into a peaceful sleep.

That was the idea anyway.

Instead of returning to his dreams, the brown haired boy was roused from his slumber by the incessant chirping of his phone. Groping around on the nightstand next to his bed, he frowned when his hand came up empty. Figuring he must've knocked it off sometime during the night, he buried his head under the blankets knowing whoever it was would eventually go away.

Five minutes of constant ringing later he was forced to rethink his initial conclusion as it was apparent whoever was on the other line wasn't going to stop any time soon. With a groan he sat up, shoving his blankets down to his waist and blinking the sleep out of his eyes as he tried to find the annoying contraption that had interrupted his sleep.

Tossing his pillows on the floor he glared at the still screeching phone that would just not shut up. Snatching it from his bed, he hit the talk button with far more force than was necessary. "What?" he growled sleepily.

Fairly certain he was being glared at despite the fact that there was nothing but silence coming from the other end, Jim took a calming breath and immediately backpedaled. "Ehem, I mean, hi, may I help you?"

". . . _may_ you help me?" a female voice replied sarcastically. "What do you mean _may_? You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago with that furball friend of yours. I thought I made it perfectly clear to you last night that you two were to be here no later than seven-thirty to serve your sentences."

Gulping, Jim asked tentatively, "Lisa?"

"No, it's the Easter bunny."

Usually when asked a rhetorical question Lisa wouldn't reply at all so the scathing comment had Jim practically quaking in fear. Glancing at the clock which said it was nearly eight in the morning, he tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear and frantically looked for some clothes. "I'm sooo sorry," he apologized while simultaneously pulling on a pair of tan cargo pants and a red t-shirt he'd snagged from the floor. "We'll be there in twenty minutes."

"You've got fifteen."

Hearing the phone click he dropped it to the floor so he could finish getting ready. As he shoved his swim suit and towel in a bag, there was practice at noon and who knew how long Lisa would make him work before that, he grabbed his wallet and phone before heading down the hall to wake Aisha.

Throwing open the door to the Ctarl-Ctarl's room, he opened his mouth to scream at her to wake up and blinked in surprise when he found she wasn't even there. "Great," he grumbled. "Now I'm going to be even later since I have to track her down." Tugging his hair in frustration he ran out of the room and down the stairs in search of someone who might know where the hyperactive cat-woman had gone.

Sliding into the kitchen he came to a halt when he spotted his dark skinned crewmate sitting at the table dressed in her green and white uniform with a plate of bacon and some orange juice in front of her. "What do you think you're doing?!" he demanded.

"Eating, what's it look like?"

Narrowing his eyes at the flippant remark, Jim grabbed Aisha by the arm and, ignoring her protests about the food, proceeded to drag her along behind him as he made his way to the door. "I can see that idiot," he snapped, pulling open the door and shoving her out onto the street. "But we were supposed to be at the Late Summer Moons Resort a half hour ago and Lisa's really pissed."

Shrugging, Aisha linked her hands behind her head nonchalantly. "It's not like it's that big of a deal. So we're a little late, what's she going to do, fire us?"

"Of course not," Jim said with a snort. "But she can drag our punishment out longer if she feels like it." Seeing the surprised look on her face he nodded his head. "Yep, that's right. Until she feels like we've worked off you- . . . I mean _our_ debts, we're basically her slaves."

Aisha's eyes widened and she backed away shaking her head quickly from side to side. "Hey, I never agreed to that," she said, placing her hands on her hips for emphasis.

"Let me guess, you didn't actually read the contract she had us sign, did you?" Her wandering eyes told him everything he needed to know. "You really are an idiot," he muttered before speaking up. "That piece of paper that she handed us stated that we agreed to do whatever odd jobs and chores she needed done around the resort until she deemed the damage repaid. Get it, until _she_ deems it repaid. If I were you I'd try to stay on her good side."

"Well that sucks," Aisha whined before turning on him with a fierce glare. "How come you didn't tell me that's what we were signing you little brat?!"

"Hey, don't take this out on me. It's your fault for not reading it before you signed." Jim regretted the comment the moment he said it knowing it was only going to make her even angrier with him. Sure enough, seconds later she began stalking angrily towards him. "Come on now, we don't have time for this," he pleaded as he gripped his bag tighter in preparation of running away.

The two stared each other down for a moment while Aisha flexed her claws. "I'm going to kill you!" she suddenly cried, and just like that they were racing down the street.

A little less than ten minutes later Jim went barreling through the main lobby doors of the resort, narrowly missing two business men and a woman with rolling luggage who were trying to leave, and turned left towards the pool area. Not bothering to check behind him, he was fairly certain Aisha was still hot on his heels, he practically tore open the doors leading to the hallway and ducked through them.

He'd managed to pass the second door down before he heard Aisha's thundering footsteps behind him so he picked up the pace. Feet flying, he spied to door leading to Lisa's office and nearly sighed in relief. As his fingers reached out to grab the handle he found himself forced to a stop. Harsh breathing and the tightening of his neckline gave him a pretty good idea as to what had caused his sudden and painful halt and he gulped as he was lifted into the air.

"Thought you could get away from me," Aisha growled, pulling him up and around so he was face to face with her. "Well guess what, it didn't work. And now that I've caught you I'm really going to make you pay for having me chase you halfway across town." Laughing maniacally, she failed to hear the nearby door opening or the room's occupant joining them in the hallway.

After listening to the commotion outside her door for a minute, Lisa got up from her seat determined to put an end to whatever was going on outside. She'd expected a couple of rowdy hotel guests, instead she found her new 'temporary employees. "You're late," she barked, crossing her arms over her chest when two pairs of eyes turned towards her. "Now put him down and get your butts in here or I'll add another two weeks to your sentences."

Eyeing the redheaded woman who was dressed in a pair of grey slacks and a burgundy blouse like she'd grown another head, Aisha fully intended to ignore her order and continue with her mission of destroying the little brat in her hand, but the glare she was receiving was seriously starting to freak her out. Deciding she could always deal with Jim later she went ahead and dropped him.

Looking up at Lisa from the ground, Jim rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry we're late Lisa, it won't happen again."

"It better not," she replied shortly, turning around and walking back into her office. When she wasn't immediately followed she called out. "Get in her, now!"

Nearly tripping over each other in their haste to get inside, Jim and Aisha rushed to stand in the center of the room.

Nodding as they both stood as if statues, Lisa slowly paced back and forth in front of her desk. "Seeing as my initial plan of having the two of you organizing the files in here won't work, you obviously can't be in the same room together; I suppose I'll just have to come up with something else for one of you to do." Tapping her chin, she thought for a moment before smiling. "Ah, I have the perfect thing." Glancing at Jim she pointed to her file cabinets and the piles of paperwork overflowing on her desk. "You will organize those papers and put them in their proper files. And you," she said, pointing her finger at Aisha. "You will be the temporary lifeguard out at the kiddie pool."

"Yeah, about that," Aisha began. "Sorry, no can do. I don't have a suit. I guess you'll just have to think of something else."

Turning around, Lisa rummaged through a bag behind her desk. When she found what she was looking for she held it out triumphantly and grinned. "No problem," she replied, her smile growing even wider. "You can borrow one of the team uniforms."

Aisha opened her mouth to protest and abruptly closed it when she caught sight of Jim shaking his head emphatically off to the side. Dropping her head in resignation she took the offered suit and held it up to get a better look at it. Wrinkling her nose, black was most definitely not her color and the thing was one solid piece, she caught the look on Lisa's face and forced a small upturn of her lips. "Thanks," she managed to get out through clenched teeth.

"You're very welcome," Lisa replied with a cheerful smile. "Why don't you go out and change, the bathroom is just down the hall on your left, and then come back here and I'll take you to the pool."

Not trusting herself to speak any more than she already had lest she get herself into even more trouble, Aisha nodded stiffly and stomped out of the room.

When Lisa's focus turned back to him, Jim tugged at the collar of his shirt nervously. "I really am sorry about being late," he said meekly. "I forgot to set my alarm and then I had a hard time getting Aisha to come along."

Holding up her hand Lisa waved his apology off. "Don't worry about it. I didn't actually need you guys here until nine so it's not a big deal." Seeing the questioning look on Jim's face she explained. "I kind of figured your friend would be problematic so I went ahead and scheduled you guys to come in earlier. That way I wouldn't have to worry about it if you were a little late."

Clearing her throat, she crossed her arms and her tone turned serious. "Just because I've forgiven your tardiness this time doesn't mean I'll be so nice in the future," she added sharply. "I'm being lenient this morning because it's your first day, but from here on out I expect you here on time and ready to work. I also don't want to hear any complaining or whining out of you, got it." When Jim jerked his head up and down quickly she smiled and walked over so she could ruffle his hair affectionately. "You know, I almost feel bad making you do this since the whole fiasco wasn't really your fault to begin with," she said, shaking her head sadly. "But I'm a woman of my word, and seeing as you've already signed the contract and all I may as well get some work out of you."

"So then you're not upset with me for the other day?" Jim asked hopefully.

Lisa blinked in surprise. "Of course not, why would I be mad at you?"

"Well, you were yelling at us pretty good at the meet."

"Okay, I admit I was pretty pissed off about all the damage, and the parent complaints were a pain to deal with, but those weren't your fault, they were that crazy friend of yours," Lisa replied. "In all honesty this resort has insurance to cover just about anything you can think of, including overzealous guests, so everything's already been taken care of. This whole thing," she said, waving her hand at the two contracts sitting on her desk. "Was my way of . . . getting revenge, if you will."

Before Jim had a chance to answer the door to the office opened and Aisha came strolling in. Catching sight of the Ctarl-Ctarl's bare midriff and barely restrained chest Lisa's eyes fell open in shock. "What the hell did you do to my swimsuit?!" she cried in outrage.

Picking off a loose thread that was located just above the white swirl design on her right hip, Aisha shrugged. "The whole one-piece thing isn't my style so I made a few adjustments. What do you think?"

"What do I think?!" Lisa snapped. "I think you ripped a brand new uniform to shreds! I have to have those things custom made and they're back ordered for a month now because everyone's trying to get their uniforms made before the new round of tournaments begin!"

Aisha waved dismissively. "I don't see the big deal, it's only one suit. Besides, if I'm going to be stuck sitting around a pool with kids all day I'm going to at least make sure I'm comfortable."

"Oh no, the children!" Lisa gasped. "What'll they think when they see their temporary guardian parading around like . . . like . . .THAT?! What will their parents think?!" Grabbing her head she shook it back and forth while nervously chewing on her lip. Pausing, she cocked her head to the side before clapping her hands together and diving back around her desk. Digging around for a moment she shot back up when she found what she was searching for. "Here, put this on over your suit," she ordered as she threw a wad of rolled up material in Aisha's direction.

Barely managing to avoid being hit in the face, Aisha held up the items she'd been handed and stared at them incredulously. "You're joking, right? I mean, you can't possibly want me to wear this garbage." A harsh glare was her only answer. "And if I refuse?"

Lisa was tempted to threaten her with more hours of punishment, but she was fairly certain the other woman would only end up driving her insane. Instead, she chose a different form of persuasion. "Tell you what," she said finally. "You wear that over your suit and I'll cut five, no, _ten_ hours off your sentence. What do you say?"

Pulling the loose white shirt and ugly red shorts on in record time Aisha tipped her head in agreement. "Deal. . . now where is this pool I'm supposed to patrol?"

Releasing the breath she'd been holding Lisa pointed towards the door. "Why don't you wait outside for a moment while I explain things to Jim and then I'll take you."

After she'd left Lisa sank into her chair and rubbed her temples with a groan. "How do you put up with her? I'm exhausted and I've only been around her for ten minutes."

"She's really not that bad once you get to know her," Jim said with a chuckle. "Okay, maybe she is, but I guess you sort of get used to it after awhile." Making his way over to the desk he tapped the nearest pile with his finger. "So, what do you need me to do, boss?"

Sitting up, Lisa brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear and explained. "It's fairly simple really. The file cabinets are all labeled, as well as each of the sections inside. All you need to do is match the papers to their counterparts, there's nothing to it. I'd do it myself but I've got a meeting with the heads of the resort shortly and then several errands to run before practice." Pushing herself out of the chair she backed away and motioned for him to take her place. "Go ahead, give it a try."

With a nod Jim picked up the top paper on one of the stacks and read the first few lines. From there he read through each of the tags on the file cabinets until he came to the one he was looking for. Once inside the drawer it took him a few seconds to find the correct place, but once he had he slid it into place and turned back to face Lisa.

"See, I knew you could do it," she said as she straightened her blouse. "Well since you seem to have this under control I'll just leave you to it. Remember, practice is at one so don't be late." And with that she stepped out into the hall.

Eyeing the hundreds of papers lying on the desk Jim pushed his arms out in front of his body with his fingers linked together in a sort of stretch before getting straight to work.

Closing the door softly Lisa took a deep breath in preparation of the headache that was waiting for her. Straightening up, she turned and gave Aisha the look she usually reserved for the twins when they were being problematic. "Alright you, let's get you to your post," she said as she headed down the hall towards the pool area. Not bothering to see if the other woman was following or not, she continued speaking as they neared their destination. "I doubt you've ever done this before so let me tell you some basic rules of lifeguarding. There's a list of unacceptable behavior on the wall that you'll need to familiarize yourself with; these are what you're here to uphold. If you spot any child disobeying these rules you _politely_ ask them to stop. If the child continues to cause problems you may call over one of the staff members working over at the adult pool and they'll get the child's parents to remove them."

"That's it?" Aisha frowned. "Seems like a boring job to me."

"You've obviously never had the pleasure of watching kids," Lisa replied with a chuckle. "Don't worry, I promise they'll keep you on your toes. In fact, one day of watching them and you'll want to sleep for a month."

Snorting, Aisha shook her head at that. "Come on, they're just a bunch of kids. They can't possibly be that bad."

Laughing, Lisa pushed open the door to the pool and ushered her inside. "Whatever you say." With those final words she led the way past two small food stands, a towel cart, and several rows of lounge chairs to a small pool located back near the hot tubs and sauna rooms. "The large pool over there is for people twelve and older, and this is the one for the younger children," she said, motioning towards the much smaller pool that had two small slides and tons of floating toys strewn about the place. Moving her finger up to the large sign on the wall she waited for Aisha's gaze to follow it. "There are the rules I told you about. I'll give you a few minutes to read through them while I tell the kids about you."

When Aisha nodded Lisa moved her attention to the group of kids splashing around in the water. "Hey you guys, this lady here is named Aisha and she's going to be keeping an eye on you today. Now I know you all know what you should and shouldn't do while playing in the pool so I want you to show her the ropes and try not to give her such a hard time. Can you guys do that for me?"

"Yes Miss Lisa!" was the answering shout from the five kids in the pool.

Giving them a smile, she glanced over her shoulder to see Aisha staring over at one of the boys laying out towels and absently tugging on the shirt she'd been forced to wear. "If you're quite finished, maybe you'd like to get started on your actual job here," she said with a hint of sarcasm lacing her words.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, _boss_," Aisha said with a roll of her eyes. Stretching her arms above her head she twisted back and forth at the waist before finally turning to face the chaos in the small pool.

"Well since you're all set, I'll leave you to it," Lisa said walking away. "If you need anything just ask one of the staff members and they'll help you with whatever you need. I'll try to come back and check on you before lunch, but if not I'll definitely be back by one since that's when my swim team comes to practice. Have fun." With a wave, she disappeared out the door.

As soon as the door closed Aisha plopped herself down in the nearest lounge chair and, linking her hands together behind her head, closed her eyes and attempted to drown out the giggling brats in the pool near her feet. So long as there wasn't any screaming going on she could do as she pleased; and right now there was a nap with her name on it.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Outlaw Star or anything affiliated with said show.

* * *

Jim closed the file cabinet door with a sound of relief. It hadn't taken him as long to deal with all the papers as he'd initially anticipated, but even still, he'd been at it for nearly four hours. Covering a yawn behind his hand, he stretched his tired limbs to bring some blood back into them. Taking one last look around to make sure he hadn't missed anything, he picked his bag up off the floor and decided to go relax at the pool until practice started.

Glancing at the clock and figuring he had about a half hour before his teammates started showing up; he closed up Lisa's office and walked down the hall to the pool area. Tugging open the doors he breathed in the chlorinated air and immediately felt himself revitalized. Making his way over to the changing rooms he ducked inside the closest empty one and changed into his uniform in record time. Ditching his bag on the ground next to one of the chairs that sat a little ways back from the pool, he did a few quick stretches to loosen his muscles and then happily dived into the water.

Breaking through the surface, he brushed his waterlogged hair out of his face before diving back under and swimming around the few guests who'd chosen to use the pool as well. After he'd gone the length of the pool twice he flipped over onto his back and let himself relax while absently floating atop the water.

Not more than a minute after he'd closed his eyes he heard what sounded like Aisha growling in frustration. Sitting up quickly, he caught sight of his crewmate on the other side of the expansive room standing with arms crossed and glaring down at the young child at her feet. Having no desire to get into any more trouble because of her temper, he was up and out of the pool in seconds and making his way over to her as fast as was safely possible. As he got closer he began to pick up snippets of conversation.

". . . go away!"

". . . big ears . . ."

"Leave me alone."

". . . eyes you have."

"I said knock it off!"

"But lady, what big teeth you have."

"All the better to ea-."

Grabbing her arm and dragging her aside before she could do anything stupid, Jim pulled her down so they were eye to eye. "What do you think you're doing?!" he hissed. "You're here to keep them out of trouble, not start your own."

Wrenching her arm free she re-crossed them with a frown. "Hey, it's not like I started it. That little brat wouldn't stop bothering me."

"I don't care if a whole classroom full of kids wants to use you as a jungle gym," Jim snapped back. "If you've got a problem with one of the children just ask a staff member to find their parents, don't sit there arguing with them." Running a hand through his wet hair he took a calming breath before turning to face the child. "Hey kiddo, how about you go back in and play in the water now. Okay?"

Aisha watched dumbfounded as the blonde haired child smiled brightly and did exactly as he was asked. "What the? How did you do that?" she demanded. "Are you some kind of kid whisperer?"

Rolling his eyes Jim shook his head. "That's the stupidest thing you've said all day," he said with a snort. Giving the pool behind him a longing look, he sighed. "Look, how about I give you a hand here until my practice starts," he offered reluctantly. When Aisha's eyes lit up he held up and hand. "Now don't go getting any ideas, I'm not taking over for you or anything. I'd just rather not have to deal with Lisa because you lost your temper again."

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Aisha chanted as she crushed him to her in a tight hug. "You have no clue how horrible this job's been. Being stuck here for hours watching a bunch of little hooligans; it's awful!"

Tugging at her arm, he gulped in air when she got the idea and finally let him go. "It's . . . fine," he wheezed out as she practically skipped over to the chair she'd claimed for herself. Rubbing his neck, he started to join her when he heard two very familiar voices come barreling through the doors.

"I win!" Trey shouted in triumph as the two boys came skidding to a stop.

"No fair, you cheated!" his brother Tony complained back.

Jim couldn't help but smile at the redheaded twins behavior as he watched them play fighting on their way to the other side of the room. "Sorry about this," he said as he looked back over at Aisha. "But it looks like I won't be able to help out after all. Have fun." Giving her a half salute, he laughed at the outraged look on her face as he went off to join his teammates.

"Wait, come back here! You can't leave me alone with these creatures!"

"Remember, play nice with the kids now!" he called back cheekily once he was far enough away to avoid anything she might decide to throw at him. Not that it mattered since two of the kids at her feet started fighting and her attention was averted moments after his remark. Waving at the twins, he sat down next to them as they stripped out of their jeans and t-shirts and were left standing in the team's standard black speedo with the white swirl on the right hip.

When he'd first seen the new uniforms he'd thought the swirly design was a waste of money, but now he had to admit it made their uniforms look a little cooler. Now if only they'd change from the speedo's to more comfortable board shorts, then he'd be happy.

Pulled out of his thoughts by a punch to the arm, Jim looked up to see a blonde head looming over him. "Hey Greg, what's up?"

"Oh the usual," Greg replied with a grin. "How about you?"

Jim returned the grin with one of his own. "Same old, same old. I just picked up that new video game you were talking about and you're right, it's awesome. I ended up staying up until almost one playing it."

"I know, it's epic right. I can't wait until they bring out the All Stars version. It's rumored they're going to add another thirty characters."

"Hey, are you two talking about that game that just came out?" Tony asked curiously.

"Yeah, the one they're advertising at the arcade downtown," Greg replied with a nod.

"You're right, that game is so freaking ama-. . ." Trey's word died on his lips as he caught sight of the imposing shadow above them.

"Well it's nice to know that you all find discussing a video game to be more important than your swimming," Lisa said as she stared at the four boys seated before her. "If it's not too much trouble though, do you think you guys could, oh I don't know, maybe get your butts in the POOL!"

Stumbling over the chairs, and the bags they'd tosses on the floor, it took several seconds before they managed to successfully make it into the water which gave Lisa plenty of time to think up a proper punishment. "I want you all to give me twenty laps right now. And then once you're finished you're going to tread water until the rest of your teammates arrive."

Smart enough to know that any sound of complaint would only get them into even more trouble, the boys all shouted, "Yes Lisa!" before kicking off from the side of the pool to begin their laps.

Checking her watch, Lisa tugged off the green t-shirt she was wearing over her suit and laid back in one of the reclining chairs. "Well, it looks like I've got a bit of a break before practice," she said with a smile.

Aisha had been pretty annoyed when Jim ditched her to play around with his friends, but that quickly faded to amusement when the group got scolded and forced to swim laps. Snickering, she was about to plop back down on one of the chairs when she realized that the kiddie pool was empty. Jerking her head around, she panicked when not a single bobbing head could be found. "Great, I take my eyes off them for a second and they all decide to drown on me," she whined, yanking the white shirt over her head and nearly tearing the shorts off in her haste to dive into the water.

It took her all of five seconds to realize that the kids hadn't drowned, they'd simply left. Pushing through the surface, she stood in the four foot deep water frowning as her hair sagged into her eyes. "That's it, I'm so done with this," she grumbled as she climbed out of the pool. Grabbing the clothes Lisa had forced her to wear she stormed over to the relaxed swim instructor and threw them at her feet. "You can have these back, I'm done."

Popping open one eye, Lisa raised an eyebrow at the sopping wet cat woman. "What's the matter, fall in?" she asked with a touch of humor.

"No," Aisha growled. "All the kids disappeared so I did what I was supposed to and went in to make sure they hadn't drowned."

It took all her effort not to burst out laughing, though a few chuckles still managed to escape despite Lisa's best efforts. "You do know the water is shallow right?" she managed to get out before choking on another laugh. She knew she was being mean, but she just couldn't help it. The water in that pool is only a few feet deep and extremely clear; there's no way someone could drown in there without being able to see them.

Crossing her arms with a huff, Aisha glared down at her. "I don't see what's so funny about this," she snapped in annoyance. "I'm soaking wet and I nearly killed myself trying to get out of that horrible outfit you gave me. I don't care what you threaten me with, I'm done. I'm not doing anymore stupid jobs for you."

Lisa was tempted to drag things out to annoy the other woman even more, but to be honest she wasn't all that interested in having to deal with her. She was like a walking dynamite stick; ready to explode and destroy everything around her at any moment. Nodding her head, Lisa agreed. "That's fine. Your punishment is officially over."

"Thank god," Aisha said as her shoulders sagged in relief. "For a moment there I was worried you might make things worse for me."

Lisa waved a hand dismissively. "Nah. Like I said before, the damage was covered by insurance so all I had to do was apologize to those nasty Tenpa parents. It's not the first time I've had to do something like that and I'm sure it won't be the last."

Jim had had his head under water for most of their conversation, but he'd popped back up in time to hear the end of it and couldn't help but cut in. "So does that mean my punishment is over too?" he asked hopefully, his head peaking over the side of the pool.

"Yours was already over," Lisa replied as she sat up and rested her elbows on her knees. "You did such a wonderful job organizing my office so I was going to let you off the hook when I came in. Of course after I saw you goofing off I decided to wait until after practice to tell you, that way I could still use it as a threat if needed."

Pumping his fist in the air, Jim splashed around happily until his lungs filled with water and he was forced to stop and cough it up.

Slapping him on the back, Greg laughed before catching sight of the woman standing next to Lisa. "Wow," he whistled appreciatively. "Who's the hottie?"

Trey and Tony, who'd finally joined them at the edge of the pool, instantly turned their heads to where Greg was looking and whistled as well. "You know," Trey began. "I've never really been a big fan of cats, but I'd definitely make an exception for her."

"I know what you mean," his twin said nodding his head in agreement.

Looking at his teammates in confusion, it took Jim a few seconds to realize exactly who they were talking about. "Knock it off guys, Aisha's like my sister."

"Cool, that means you can totally hook me up," Trey said excitedly.

"No, he can hook me up," Tony added.

Not to be left out, Greg piped up with, "Jim and I are best friends, so obviously he'll set me up."

Before Jim could reply Aisha turned towards them with her hands on her hips. "Are you little pipsqueaks talking about me?" she asked, an eyebrow raised in question. "Cause I don't date infants."

Laughing as his friends sputtered on about being 'men', not 'infants', Jim gave Aisha a thumbs up. "That was great," he said between laughs. "Absolutely hilarious."

"What are you laughing about?" she asked. "I was being serious." When that only caused Jim to laugh harder, she stuck out her tongue before turning around and storming out of the room.

As soon as she left the three boys immediately stopped talking and got dreamy looks on their faces. "She's amazing," Greg said, and Jim swore he saw hearts in the other guy's eyes. "Perfect in every way."

"Totally," the twins agreed in unison.

Rolling her eyes, boys will _always_ be boys, Lisa pushed herself out of the chair and stood imposingly over the four in the pool. "I don't recall telling you guys you could stop," she said, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "In fact, I seem to recall saying after your laps, which you have yet to finish, you were to tread water until everyone else shows up. So what do you think you're doing wasting time ogling some woman in a bikini?" When several mouths opened, she silenced them with a glare and continued. "No excuses. You came here to train, now get to it."

Grumbling under their breaths, they all sank lower in the water and prepared to push away from the wall. "She's such a slave driver," Trey muttered.

"Yeah, but it was worth it to see that angel," Greg said with a grin.

When Tony nodded, Jim shook his head and took off ahead of them. It was going to be a _very_ long practice.

They only managed to get in three more laps before they found themselves joined by two girls, a smiling blonde and a laughing brunette. "Yay, Sasha and Julia are here!" Trey cheered, stopping halfway through a stroke. "No more laps!" Slowly gliding towards the shallow end he smiled and gave Julia a friendly pat on the head which she swatted away good-naturedly.

Hearing his cry, the other boys stopped their laps and swam back to join them. "Hey guys, 'bout time you got here," Tony grinned as Greg pulled the shy Sasha into a hug. "We've been waiting for you forever."

"You've only been swimming laps for about ten minutes," Lisa snorted as she moved to stand at the edge of the pool. "So quit your whining." Giving the girls a nod hello which they returned with ones of their own, she crossed her arms over her chest. "Alright, since you're all here now how about we get started. I want five laps alternating front and back stroke, followed by five more in butterfly, and then an additional five freestyle. After that we'll do some diving. Got all that?" Seeing six heads nod in understanding she continued. "Well, get to it then."

Lisa watched sadly as they pushed off from the side and began their laps, dreading what she knew she'd have to do come the end of practice. It would be difficult, of that she was certain, but she'd made her decision and was going to see it through.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Outlaw Star or anything affiliated with said show.

* * *

Two hours later, as her students climbed out of the pool and dried themselves off, Lisa took a deep breath before walking over and interrupting their friendly chatter. "Hey guys, I know this is probably going to come as a surprise to you, but I've been offered one of the head positions in the swim league and I've decided to take it."

"Wow, that's great," Sasha congratulated softly.

"Yeah," Julia agreed giving her two thumbs up.

Greg and Trey cheered as well, but Tony's question silence them all. "Um . . . what does that mean for us? Are you still going to be our instructor?"

Lisa's silence was answer enough and the smiles on all the kids' faces faded away almost instantly as they realized what that meant. "You're going to leave us, aren't you?" Sasha asked on the verge of tears.

Julia placed a comforting arm around her shoulder as she looked at Lisa anxiously.

"There's no way she'd leave us," Trey stated firmly with a shake of his head. "We're the best team she's ever coached and it would be stupid of her to leave us before we finally become the league champions."

"That's right," Tony nodded. "We're in the lead with five wins and one loss; two more wins and we take the title from Dragon's."

Lisa brushed a tear from her eye and cleared her throat before speaking. "I'm sorry, but I'm leaving. I had a meeting with my bosses from the resort this morning to discuss the transfer details and everything's been finalized. I leave at the end of the week."

"But that means that this was our last practice!" Greg cried in outrage. "How come you didn't tell us this earlier?!"

Putting a hand on his arm, Jim squeezed it gently before posing the question, "Would you have wanted to swim if she had?" Looking at his teammates who he'd become close friends with, he added, "Would any of you? I know I wouldn't have."

"That's not the point, she still should've said something," Trey complained.

Jim shook his head. "If she had then we all would've spent our last practice crying. Is that really how you want to remember our final hours together?"

They all fell silent as they thought about it and Lisa took that time to compose herself. "It's not like you'll never see me; I'll be at the final rounds of the tournament each year. And I promise to stop in and say hi whenever I get the chance."

"It won't be the same though," Tony sniffled, rubbing at his eyes irritably.

"No, it won't," Lisa conceded. "But this is what I've wanted to do since I became a swim instructor and I just can't let the opportunity pass me by, no matter how hard it is to leave you guys."

"What'll happen to us?" Julia asked as tears began to fall down her face.

Taking her hand, Lisa squeezed it reassuringly. "Sarah and Amy are going to take over until the resort finds someone to replace me. Don't worry though; I'm leaving them a detailed training regimen that's so easy even a first grader can follow it. You guys will be fine."

"That's why you had me organize your files isn't it?" Jim asked suddenly as everything fell into place. "You knew this morning that you weren't going to be here any longer so you had me put everything in order for whoever takes over."

Rubbing the back of her head, Lisa gave him a slightly guilty look. "Well, that and I hadn't bothered to do any office work for a few weeks so things were getting pretty crazy in there." Taking in the distraught looks on her students faces she gave them all a watery smile. "Look at it this way; at least you'll still have this team and each other. The only difference is you'll have someone else pushing you to your limits instead of me. I've already talked to your parents and they have my number in case any of you feel you want to talk; everything will be fine."

"So we're the last to know?!" Trey asked sounding hurt. "Well if that's how you're going to treat us I'm out of here!" Not even bothering to put on his clothes he ran off; Tony grabbing their stuff and rushing after him with nothing more than a quick wave goodbye.

Greg wrapped his towel around his shoulders and picked up his bag as well. "I'd better go after them to make sure they get home safe," he said turning away. "Good luck with your new position." Refusing to turn around so no one would see the tears forming in his eyes, he followed the twins out.

Covering her mouth with her hand, Lisa choked back a sob as the three boys disappeared out of sight. She knew they weren't really mad at her, it was the situation they were upset about, but it still hurt to know she'd caused them pain. "I'm going to miss you guys so much."

Sniffling, Sasha threw herself into Lisa's arms. "I don't want you to go!"

"Don't leave," Julia cried joining her friend.

When Lisa wrapped them into a tight hug Jim ran a hand through his hair slowly. Grabbing his bag off the chair he threw his pants and shirt on, pulled the bag over his shoulder, looked at his instructor one last time, and then made his way out of the resort in a daze.

The trip back to the apartment was a blur, his mind still in shock from the unexpected news. Pushing the door open he stumbled inside and nearly ran into Aisha who was carrying a large tray full of food to the couch.

"Back already?" she asked while munching on a sandwich. "I figured you'd still be out doing whatever it is you do with those little friends of yours." When she didn't get a response, she raised an eyebrow as her foot began to tap in impatience. "Yo, earth to shorty."

". . . Lisa's leaving," he whispered so quietly that anyone else would've missed it.

"You mean like on vacation?"

Jim shook his head. "No. I mean leaving as in Heifong. She got offered a position as one of the heads of the league and she took it."

"Well good for her," Aisha said, her tone implying she couldn't care less. Plopping down on the couch she grabbed a handful of chips and shoved them in her mouth. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. We'll be heading back to space in a few days so you might want to let your team know you'll be gone for awhile."

"No need, I'm done with swimming. It's time I got back to more important things."

Aisha shrugged. "Whatever you say."

As he slowly made his way up the stairs to his room, Jim wondered if he'd ever feel like swimming again. Sure he enjoyed spending time with his friends, but he could do that outside of practice. He'd joined the team for Lisa and it didn't seem right continuing on without her. Dropping his bag to the floor he threw himself on his bed and buried his head in his pillow. "Well, it was fun while it lasted," he muttered as a single tear rolled down his cheek.


End file.
